Fort Wayne, Ind. - The Michigan State men's soccer team finished the exhibition part of its schedule with a 2-0 loss to Akron Friday night at the National Soccer Festival at the Fort Wayne Sports Club. Intense rain storms in northeast Indiana cut the contest short, as the teams played a pair of 30-minute halves.

Playing in stormy conditions throughout the night, MSU and Akron played a scoreless first stanza. Akron struck early in the second half, scoring in the 34th minute. The Zips would make it 2-0 with just three minutes to play to provide the final margin.

"It was a strange match," head coach Joe Baum said. It was wet and not the best of conditions. But Akron was more aggressive and they deserved to win. They adjusted to the conditions better than we did."

The Zips held an 11-6 edge in shots, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal. Akron played the final eight minutes of the night with 10 players after one Akron player was issued a red card.

"We just need to keep working," Baum said. "We did some good things, but overall we need to get better.

Baum also cited junior defender Josh Rogers and junior forward Doug DeMartin as MSU's top players in the match. "I thought Josh Rogers did well in the sweeper position and Doug DeMartin played well. He had some shots that the Akron goal made nice plays on."

The Spartans, who split their two exhibition matches, open their regular season schedule at home against Oregon State on Friday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m.